Mass Effect

[Hot Heart]

Yesss

https://twitter.com/tibermoon/status/827700881948819456

[Mr. GOH!]

I don't get it.

[TheMightyEthan]

Hottie's just excited about playing as a Krogan in multiplayer.

[Mr. GOH!]

Multiplayer in Mass Effect? Seems like a waste of Bioware's time.

[TheMightyEthan]

It was actually surprisingly fun in ME3. Stupid that it tied into the ending though (they've said it won't do that in Andromeda).

[Mr. GOH!]

I'm just salty that Bioware spends money and time on developing and balancing gameplay for MP when I think that it would serve the SP campaign better to ditch MP.

[deanb]

Maybe they actually get more money cos of it? Like as a requirement for releasing certain funds is to have MP in their game? (Pretty sure EA announced it as policy a few years back all their games would have MP).

 

(and I don't remember the issue with ME3 being down to it have MP).

[Mr. GOH!]

One of the issues with ME3 was a continuing samey-ness to the combat encounters, which may have had its basis in balancing the enemies and combat overall to work in the MP horde mode. 

[Hot Heart]

I think MP was a bit of a money-earner for them, because it had that skinner box-type unlock thing (I never spent a single penny) for characters/classes and weapons, upgrades, mods, etc.

 

I don't think it drew resources away from SP because there are probably bottlenecks somewhere. The main guys just painted themselves into a corner with the story and everything and then it was released, what, just two years after the second game? A lot got cut from ME3 because it was rushed.

 

It was just a great mode to jump in and get straight to combat and there were so many various things to try. A batarian with some sweet close-up melee "blast", a Cerberus vanguard with powerful whips, a speedy biotic who relied on turning themselves into a sort of biotic explosion barrel, an asari adept, a krogan with a hammer, a massive geth unit. And they introduced Collectors too. Plus, there was this really cool snipery type shotgun, a sticky grenade type gun, the carnifex, etc.

 

Now I really want to play again...

 

Oh, and there was definitely no real balance or finesse in the MP mode. Gold difficulty was just a clusterfuck of enemies, and objectives were random anyway.

Edited February 6, 2017 by Hot Heart

[TheMightyEthan]

The part I was talking about with it affecting the end was that the only way to get the best ending was to have galactic readiness at a certain level, and if you didn't play MP it was impossible to get it high enough. Even worse was that the MP bonus decayed over time.

[Mr. GOH!]

Ok, so MP was a tacked-on horde mode. Got it.

 

And, yes; the real damage to ME3 was the rushed schedule and weaker writing.

[Hot Heart]

On the plus side, it wasn't the "best" ending.

 

Also, they altered it with the Extended Cut DLC so there was no need to play MP.

[Mr. GOH!]

Ugh, the Extended Cut helped a bit, but the ending was still garbage.

[TheMightyEthan]

Previews are out.

 

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2017-02-22-four-hours-with-mass-effect-andromeda

 

I'm still excited, but it does sound like they completely abandoned the more tactical combat of the previous games in favor of a run-and-gun shooter.  You can't even control your squadmates' power use.  

Edited February 23, 2017 by TheMightyEthan

[Mr. GOH!]

Yeah, fuck that noise. So the squad will effectively be AI-controlled uselessness, like in Call of Duty games?  

[Hot Heart]

Weird that you can't control squadmates' power usage since biotic explosions were THE BOMB (and like many things, it's not as fun creating them by yourself), but I know that you can direct who/what they attack since the last combat preview showed that was taking place (the bit with the mech where Ryder hits their head while jetpacking).

[TheMightyEthan]

According to the articles I've seen you can order them to move to certain positions, and I'm unclear on whether or not you can order them to attack specific targets, but you definitely cannot order them to use specific powers.

[Hot Heart]

Well, the last bit of this video was a lot more promising.

 

It shows you can order them to move to positions and attack certain targets and while you can't specify what powers to use, they seem to have some system where they know how to combo either by priming or detonating.

[deanb]

 

It still tickles me the response for "you can sleep with two celebs as long as they rhyme"
"Natalie Dormer and a clone of the former".

[Hot Heart]

I don't think he gave the best demonstration of what's possible but it shows promise.

[Hot Heart]

This stuff has me p excited. Might appeal to people who had some hopes for No Man's Sky too?

 

 

IGN also has the first 13 minutes of the game but it's not that interesting on its own like that, really. You get your first peek at Natalie Dormer's character in action, I like the look and sound of Cora, and you see the new dialogue system... which uses symbols for short-hand. I thought it would be confusing but it will probably become second nature. Heart = emotional, Cog = logical, Loose spiral = casual, Angular spiral = professional. I think it has a great deal of potential since you can really adjust how you respond to separate people and no more good/bad dichotomy.

[deanb]

Hah just came in to post that vid.

 

The exploration stuff seems quite close to DA:I's general "explore area, clear missions, then hey looksy you've got a base. Slightly off put by the "dozens of worlds to discover, a few hand crafted to explore". Kinda sounds like there won't be that many.

[Hot Heart]

Some more details here than in the vid.

 

I like the sound of the augmentation stuff.

 

Augmentations : These are special devices which can be incorporated into a weapon or armor piece during crafting to give it unique properties. Below are just a few of the Augmentations available, to provide a sense of what’s possible when you use them while crafting a weapon or piece of armor:

• Aerial Stabilizer: If used while crafting a weapon, grants accuracy to weapon damage whenever you’re hovering. If used while crafting armor, improves your biotic powers while hovering.
• Beam Emitter: Replaces the firing mechanism of a gun with an energy beam. Turn your Avenger into a laser rifle!
• Coolant Unit: Increases clip size whenever special ammo is in use, allowing you to get the most out of your cryo, incendiary, or disruptor rounds.
• Shield Disruptor: If used while crafting a weapon, increases the power of your disruptor ammo. If used while crafting leg armor, adds an electrical discharge to your air melee attacks.
• Vintage Heat Sink: Converts any gun to an overheat system (like in the original Mass Effect™), where you’ll never run out of ammo.

[TheMightyEthan]

you see the new dialogue system... which uses symbols for short-hand. I thought it would be confusing but it will probably become second nature. Heart = emotional, Cog = logical, Loose spiral = casual, Angular spiral = professional.

That sounds like the system in Dragon Age... 2?... where I played the whole game without ever really understanding what the symbols meant. So the fact that they're bringing that over does not fill me with hope.

[Hot Heart]

Hmm, I like the sound of it. I recalled that stuff from seeing it the second time it comes up and after finishing the video, so I'm not too worried there.